Prevention of reporting unwanted signals by the filtering of sensor data

Abstract

A method for filtering an object by a vehicular sensor system, including emitting a first signal, detecting a first echo, the first echo including at least a portion of the first signal reflected by the object, filtering a first time value of the first echo, emitting a second signal, detecting a second echo, the second echo including at least a portion of the second signal reflected by the object, and filtering a second time value of the second echo.

1. A method for filtering an object by a vehicular sensor system, comprising:
 emitting a first signal; 
 detecting a first echo, the first echo comprising at least a portion of the first signal reflected by the object; 
 emitting a second signal; 
 detecting a second echo, the second echo comprising at least a portion of the second signal reflected by the object; and 
 filtering a time band encompassing a first time value of the first echo and a second time value of the second echo. 
 
   
   
     2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 emitting a third signal; 
 detecting a third echo, the third echo comprising at least a portion of the third signal reflected by an additional object; 
 detecting a third time value of the third echo; and 
 issuing a waming in response to detecting the third time value. 
 
   
   
     3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second echo is detected by a first detector and the first echo is detected by a second detector. 
   
   
     4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first and second signals are emitted by a first emitter. 
   
   
     5. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first signal is emitted by a first emitter and the second signal is emitted by a second emitter. 
   
   
     6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the first emitter is co-located with the first detector and the second emitter is co-located with the second detector. 
   
   
     7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second echoes are detected by a first detector. 
   
   
     8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first signal is emitted by a first emitter and the second signal is emitted by a second emitter. 
   
   
     9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein filtering is implemented by an indirect filter. 
   
   
     10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein filtering is implemented by a direct filter. 
   
   
     11. A method for filtering an object by a vehicular sensor system, comprising:
 emitting a first signal and a second signal from a first emitter; 
 detecting a first echo by a first detector, the first echo comprising at least a portion of the first signal; 
 detecting a second echo by either the first detector or a second detector, the second echo comprising at least a portion of the second signal; 
 detecting a plurality of objects based on detecting the first echo and detecting the second echo; and 
 filtering a time band encompassing a first time value of the first echo and a second time value of the second echo so as to filter at least one of the plurality of objects after detecting the plurality of objects. 
 
   
   
     12. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 issuing a warning in response to detecting another of the plurality of objects. 
 
   
   
     13. A vehicular sensor system adapted to filter an object, comprising:
 a first emitter configured to emit a first signal; 
 a second emitter configured to emit a second signal; 
 at least one detector configured to detect echoes;
 wherein at least one of the detectors is configured to detect a first echo corresponding to the first signal reflected by the object; 
 wherein at least of the one detectors is configured to detect a second echo corresponding to the second signal reflected by the object; and 
 
 a processor system configured to filter a continuous time band encompassing a first time value of the first echo and a second time value of the second echo. 
 
   
   
     14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein:
 at least one of the detectors is further configured to detect a third echo corresponding to a third signal emitted by one of the first emitter and the second emitter; 
 the processor system is further configured to detect a third time value corresponding to the third echo; and 
 the processor system is further configured to issue a waming in response to the third time value. 
 
   
   
     15. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the second echo is detected by a first detector and the first echo is detected by a second detector. 
   
   
     16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second signals are emitted by a unified emitter comprising the first and second emitters. 
   
   
     17. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the first and second echoes are detected by a first detector. 
   
   
     18. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one detector comprises a first detector and a second detector, and wherein the first detector is co-located with the first emitter and the second detector is co-located with the second emitter. 
   
   
     19. The vehicular sensor system of  claim 18 , wherein the first emitter and the first detector are embodied in a first sensor and the second emitter and the second detector are embodied in a second sensor.